The most sacred river to Hindus, Ganga was ranked as the fifth most polluted river in the world in 2007.

Bound to be a ‘historical’ judgement, Uttarakhand High Court on Monday declared river Ganga as the “first living entity” of India.

The court’s ruling means that river Ganga will now enjoy all the rights that the Indian Constitution empowers to every citizen of the nation.

Speaking to the media, petitioner’s advocate MC Pant said that the High court has given all the rights available to the humans to river Ganga as well. He said that the court was given the reference to a similar ruling where a New Zealand court has also entitled a river as a living being.